My 8yo just finished up his first year in coach pitch. He did not play last year in what should have been his first season in coach pitch. His current coach asked if we had interest in joining a select team. I have always had no desire to be a part of the select venue. However, as my boy has shown he has certain skills that put him above the average ball player - and he has passion for learning the game - I don't want to hold him back. Our oldest will be a freshman in HS this upcoming year, and will be going out for the softball team. My hold up is putting our family in a position of so much travel and having a HS kiddo. I was coming around to the idea of the little guy playing local LL spring and fall ball until my daughter either started driving or once my son turned 12.

Just looking for input from those who have lived in the select/travel world....

TIA!!!

Definitely doing that today - baseball, basketball, soccer. My old ass didn't have travel/select as it is known today. We had local Dixie league ball through end of all-stars. I suppose the "select" was the American Legion ball some of us would play.

So not getting into it now should not hurt him later as long as we continue to practice and work on improving?

As long as he is getting good coaching and a solid amount of reps, I think non-select ball is fine at his age.
We didn't move into select baseball until around 11, and my son loves baseball as much as BBQ! I don't think I would have done anything differently. He is a 7th grader now, and still loves baseball over all other sports. I also agree that multi-sport is the way to go at the younger ages (Cal Ripken recommends this in his books on parenting youth baseball players). See if your boy likes flag football, soccer, basketball etc. He may love those other sports just as much. While I am not a big fan of many popular sports, besides baseball, they are extremely more interesting to me, when my son plays. And, multi-sport training usually lessens arm injuries in baseball.

I will say that the advantage to SELECT ball is the ability to get more in game reps in a weekend. On our average weekend we play at least 3 games which ends up being at least 5 hours of baseball total. That's a lot of good reps when combined with 2x a week practices. Most AA/Minor level teams in select are just rec league level kids, who want to play more, and hopefully are getting a little better coaching.

I would say that depends on your local little league. If it's strong then keep playing there. My oldest played at The Woodlands LL (ORWALL) and most teams were as good or better than most 9u teams. We moved and my youngest started playing select at 9U. The new local LL was not as strong as ORWALL - games didn't start until April and it was infested with daddy ball issues because of all stars.

If your LL is good, stay for 9U and start up at 10U. Find a place where you have a good amount of time off for youth ball. No reason to play from Thanksgiving - Valentines or after July 4th- when school starts.

I held off on letting my daughter go select until she was 14 and it was crazy! Not sure if baseball for boys is any different than softball for girls but it was a lot of travel. For four years we were on the road all summer long. All over Texas and many others. Now the end pay off was good, went to nationals all four years and she got a lot of college exposure but 8 is a little early for all of that IMO.

I have an 8 year old that does it. To me, it's all about reps. Over the last two tryouts ( fall and spring), I've witnessed the difference between kids that get the reps and kids that don't.

We are fortunate right now cause we've found a group of kids that enjoy the game but are very competitive. My son has been able to form great friendships with his teammates, and it has become more than just about baseball. Half the fun playing for him is cause he gets to see his non school buddies with the same interest (Been on the team 1 Year).

Find the team that fits what you want, 2 tournies a month, take fall off, whatever your looking for. Make sure you agree with what the coaches goals are as well...it will be an issue at some point if you are not on the same page, especially once pitching starts.

We focus mainly on spring season, and in the fall play a little but have more intention on the kids playing other sports. We do flag football and basketball ourselves.

Go the different team tryouts if you decide on trying it. Talk to the parents while there, you be able to get a feel for the operations and coaches.

Where do you live, we play for the Kings organization based out of the Woodlands.

Bottom line is you can get as crazy as you want, but it's really up to you and you can control that right now with they type of team you play with.

We are in Boerne. Thanks for all the feedback. Still trying to figure out our local LL, but can tell already there is definitely some "Daddy issues" going on with a few. I watched how all the coaches interacted with their teams, and outside of 1-2 all of them were solid. All good advice! Thanks!

As long as it is fun for your son, go the select route, but play for a team that has pro coaches. Stay away from daddy ball.

Shane Minks said:

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And just for some context, my rant was directed at the ones who play year-round at a young age thinking that it is the "only way" that their child is going to get a scholarship.

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Amen

I'll echo what others have said - that the quality of your local league makes a big difference in when/whether to go to select. We started select this year with 9U because our league is a mix of about 20% kids that really want to improve and 80% ones that are there to hang out with friends or because their parents made them. I've been both a coach and just an observer and its really hard to do practices at the level the 20% need when the other 80% don't care / pay attention. Plus the daddy ball issues in our league are pretty bad as well - some of them are out of control with how they interact with umpires.

I've told our son a number of times that I will love him just as much if he stops having fun and decides to not pursue baseball anymore - but that I want him to find something he loves and try to be great at it. The coaching on his select team is way above what he's been receiving in league. He has shown so much improvement since we started with this team in January. Even at 9 he's aware of how the level of competition makes him a better player.

That's not to say we haven't had some frustration with select - the schedule can be a burden. Getting those extra games means every other weekend we've got somewhere to be Saturday and Sunday. Have multiple kids playing and you might not see each other all weekend. We've also been a little frustrated with how our team uses pick up kids.

TLDR: Depends whether you've got good coaching/competition in your local league

Is athletics the family business? Were either you or your wife college scholarship material? Play in the pros?

Reason I ask is that it seems to me like that people in most walks of life seem to be the most successful when they follow in their parents' footsteps. I remember playing little league with a few guys whose parents had played some mlb. Kids weren't very good in elementary and middle school, but around high school (puberty) those kids just woke up one day and were phenomenal players that were bigger, stronger, and faster than everyone else. Every single person from my high school class that got a college scholarship in any sport had at least one parent that also got a college scholarship. Conversely, I didn't know of anyone with a scholarship parent that didn't also get a scholarship. Seems extremely difficult to overcome genetic superiority.

I always recommend sports for fun only. If your kid gets to high school and is outperforming kids of the scholarship-parents, OK now it's time to consider college scholarships and playing a sport year-round to fine-tune the skills to go along with the athletic ability.

As long as you have a decent rec league to participate in, then absolutely not at this age. If you want to spend a little extra time developing him vs what rec would provide, look into doing some camps and things of that nature. But don't go select at this age.

Quick history. Out of necessity, mine started playing at age 8 and now plays Div 1 baseball. By 10, he was involved with the most competitive teams in the country. Never played year round. The journey was a blast and what created our greatest memories. Having said that, the fact he started so young and now plays Div 1 are completely unrelated. My advise is play local league and hopefully Allstars. If you're dead set on spending money, seek out great instruction for him. He will benefit more from that than any 8u-11u team. Be a student of the game so you can understand what he's being taught. 12 years old is the soonest for select consideration but probably 13. If he has legitimate talent and not daddy talent, he'll have no problem finding a good organization to play for then. Let it be his desire, not yours.

And, I agree with everything Shane said.

agnerd said:

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Is athletics the family business? Were either you or your wife college scholarship material? Play in the pros?

Reason I ask is that it seems to me like that people in most walks of life seem to be the most successful when they follow in their parents' footsteps. I remember playing little league with a few guys whose parents had played some mlb. Kids weren't very good in elementary and middle school, but around high school (puberty) those kids just woke up one day and were phenomenal players that were bigger, stronger, and faster than everyone else. Every single person from my high school class that got a college scholarship in any sport had at least one parent that also got a college scholarship. Conversely, I didn't know of anyone with a scholarship parent that didn't also get a scholarship. Seems extremely difficult to overcome genetic superiority.

I always recommend sports for fun only. If your kid gets to high school and is outperforming kids of the scholarship-parents, OK now it's time to consider college scholarships and playing a sport year-round to fine-tune the skills to go along with the athletic ability.

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Then you haven't met me. My father played D-1 college basketball and was also a high jumper so he was a superior athlete. My ceiling was all district basketball but no college scholarship. So there I am agnerd, the one.

I do have one son who played college baseball so apparently it skipped a generation. He's now giving lessons at a baseball academy run by a former MLB player and says it's amazing that some parents actually think their kid can play.

What I see/saw in Select ball isn't too different though that what you say. 5'9", 240# dad and 5'1", 240# mom think Junior is going to be a shortstop and they blow his college fund and their retirement on travel, tournaments, coaching, etc. He isn't going to be a shortstop.

Shane Minks said:

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RoughRider said:

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My 8yo just finished up his first year in coach pitch. He did not play last year in what should have been his first season in coach pitch. His current coach asked if we had interest in joining a select team. I have always had no desire to be a part of the select venue. However, as my boy has shown he has certain skills that put him above the average ball player - and he has passion for learning the game - I don't want to hold him back. Our oldest will be a freshman in HS this upcoming year, and will be going out for the softball team. My hold up is putting our family in a position of so much travel and having a HS kiddo. I was coming around to the idea of the little guy playing local LL spring and fall ball until my daughter either started driving or once my son turned 12.

Just looking for input from those who have lived in the select/travel world....

TIA!!!

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NO NO NO!

No need to play "travel," "select," or "year-round," baseball at such a young age. Heck, I didn't start playing "year-round" until I was a sophomore in high school, and still played football, basketball, and ran track during the school year.

The money spent on travel, hotels, fees, etc, from ages 8-15 could easily be saved up and put towards a college fund that would most likely greatly exceed the amount of an athletic scholarship (except for maybe football and basketball).

One of my biggest pet peeves as a former player and a coach is when I hear that a 10 year old is a "baseball only guy." They haven't even had a chance to play other sports yet...for all we know, he could be the best dang basketball, football, tennis, etc, player in the county by the time he's a senior...but we'll never know because he was pigeon holed at such a young age.

Ask any high school or college coach around, and most (if not all) of them are going to tell you that they prefer guys who played multiple sports in high school.


End of rant.

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The best baseball player I know played football through freshman year of high school (and played 3 sports his whole life before that) when it became obvious he have a very very high baseball ceiling.

Great input!

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If you're dead set on spending money, seek out great instruction for him.

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This stood out to me. Good advice. I did play ball through HS and had an opportunity to stay local to play college, but chose go to A&M instead. Was no where near D1 level talent. We just did not have all this select stuff, and my daughter did not get into softball early enough for us to be introduced to that world.

All this said, his choice in anything he wants to do!

AustinCountyAg said:

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Current high school ball coach here. My advice is do not play select baseball at that young of an age. Have the kid play as many different sports as possible to develop motor skills and an understanding of competing with a team and without (golf/tennis).

An 8 yr old child still has YEARS of growing to do. let the child mature, and develop his motor skills before he limits his extra curricular opportunities by playing select baseball


Take the money you were gunna spend for a couple months worth of travel ball and go on a little vacation. The whole family will appreciate it and enjoy it more. And also remember it thirty years from now

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Excellent advice. Take it. I coach club sports as well and get asked to coach travel teams at 9-10 and I always decline. They need to do as much motor learning as possible through a variety of sports

And on unrelated note. Have fun Austin co Ag in Charleston on your vacation

AustinCountyAg said:

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Current high school ball coach here. My advice is do not play select baseball at that young of an age. Have the kid play as many different sports as possible to develop motor skills and an understanding of competing with a team and without (golf/tennis).

An 8 yr old child still has YEARS of growing to do. let the child mature, and develop his motor skills before he limits his extra curricular opportunities by playing select baseball


Take the money you were gunna spend for a couple months worth of travel ball and go on a little vacation. The whole family will appreciate it and enjoy it more. And also remember it thirty years from now

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This is very well said Coach! I battled the internal fight when my son was coming up. It was hard not to go select because" it was the thing to do"; but he played everything and I kept him in league ball until he came to me after his 12u season and said he was going select the next season, and I had no choice! That route worked out great because he had always wanted to; but I didn't let him. He plays college ball now, and has told me many times that kids need to have fun when they're young because they will have baseball overload if/when they play after high school. Have fun with the family when they are little. If you are in Boerne, and you want to spend a little money on extra baseball ,work with RJ Peruki up at the dugout in the offseason. You and your son will love him, and you will get great instruction.

NOT

AustinCountyAg said:

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Current high school ball coach here. My advice is do not play select baseball at that young of an age. Have the kid play as many different sports as possible to develop motor skills and an understanding of competing with a team and without (golf/tennis).

An 8 yr old child still has YEARS of growing to do. let the child mature, and develop his motor skills before he limits his extra curricular opportunities by playing select baseball


Take the money you were gunna spend for a couple months worth of travel ball and go on a little vacation. The whole family will appreciate it and enjoy it more. And also remember it thirty years from now

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Thank you coach.

As others have stated, do not get into the one sport mentality at this age. Your kiddo is 8 years old - he needs to be playing as many sports as possible. Ratholing him into a single sport at this age is a great way to essentially burn him out on that sport by the time he starts driving.

He's 8 years old - he still doesn't have a full grasp on fundamentals of the game, and that is what he needs to be working on at this age more than anything. Little League, generally speaking, has a great framework - use it. If you want additional work outside of that, go find some one on one instructional camps to attend here and there, but don't get suckered into the "select" league.

"Select" is not what it was back 10 or 15 years ago when it truly meant "select". Now it's pretty much open to anybody that is willing to pay the money to travel and play. You don't necessarily have the best athletes and coaches because the pool has been diliuted to the point its just not much different than rec ball.

He's 8 years old - remember that. Let him play Little League, find a baskeball or soccer league to offset the baseball and let him have some off time as well to play with Leggos, go hunting or whatever. You'll do him a lot better in the long run.

play multiple sports, if you want to do select ball do it. Have fun and make sure your son is enjoying himself

I see several insinuations that playing select ball means you've decided to specialize. I know of almost no select player under the age of 14 who has narrowed it down to one sport. It's not the epidemic you hear about especially in the younger age groups. Most select coaches are even advertising their friendliness to fall sports.

My son played all kinds of sports - baseball, football, basketball, track and swimming. He's now almost 15 and has decided to focus only on baseball. He's played select ball for several seasons, but he also played LL in the spring. Playing those other sports not only made him more athletically diverse, it furthered his grasp on how to be a good teammate. But, as Sandman98 said, just because you play select ball, that doesn't necessarily mean you're "specializing" in that sport.

My advice to you, if your son is going to play select - do your best to find a team coached by someone who knows baseball, how to teach it, and doesn't have a kid on the team. These teams are rare, and fortunately I found one.

My son plays D1 NCAA baseball and here are my thoughts in reflection:

- Only play select baseball if your son truly is elite in talent. WAY too many parents put their kids on teams trying to force the issue. Pretty much anyone can play select baseball these days because there are enough crazy parents out there forming teams which have watered down travel baseball.

- Only play select baseball part of the year, the Fall should be reserved for taking a break mentally and physically and playing a different sport. Mine played football all the way through his Sr. year in High School and the cross training, mental break, and fun doing something else was invaluable.

- If your kid loves it, keep doing it, if they hate it quit and let them play less in the year or play another sport. Do not force them out there.

- If your kid is really good play in the Premier Baseball league when they are in High School. Not that Nations Baseball thing they formed and called it "Premier" years later after this other organization had been in existence to compete and so they can call themselves "premier" too. Here is the address: http://www.premierbaseball.net and I am saying this based merely on scouting and what the organizations do to get kids placed on college teams. I am sure someone will argue with me because they know of an exception or they take offense because their kid does not play on one of these teams but I can speak on experience and watching 100 guns go up in Joplin at one game because there were that many scouts watching on top of the organizations run by MLB scouts is where you want your kid to be if they have a shot.

And just to give you an idea of the level of talent, here is my son's last team there and where they went: LINK

A lot of the more "advanced" baseball clubs/ academies encourage participation in other sports. Also, a lot of them only play from late February through May and a couple of months in the Fall.

In my opinion, from 9U-12U, you should find a organization that is more concerned with player development than is about winning a couple of cheap rings/ trophies.

No. No and no. Plenty of time for that after his freshman year of high school